For Better or for Worse
by Jellyfish-bookworm
Summary: Valkyrie has plenty of problems to deal with as her reflection causes chaos, her best friend starts falling for a villain and she has some explaining to do to her parents... And just when she thinks she's got her life under control, there's another surprise in store for her. Set after Death Bringer. Fletchkyrie, Ghanith and Tanguine.
1. Chapter 1

Valkyrie Cain stood on the pier, waiting for Skulduggery Pleasant to pick her up. It was about 60'clock in the evening, and it had been a warm summer's day in Haggard. The sea was calm and gently rolled towards the rocks and back again. She remembered how she used to wait here for Skulduggery when she was thirteen. She had changed a lot since then, and not just in appearance. Now she spent a lot more of her time with Tanith.

When Tanith had the remnant inside of her for a few years, Valkyrie had missed her immensely. Since Ghastly had managed to extract the remnant, they were making up for lost time. Things were, in some ways, back to normal, although it was unwise to mention Billy-Ray Sanguine in Tanith's presence as it was a rather sensitive subject.

Since the death of Kenspeckle Grouse, Ghastly had turned his attention to healing magic and remedies. Although he was no longer Grand Mage, he continued to run his tailor shop, whilst attending to various injuries that the group had contracted during training.

The gentle hum of the Bentley's engine alerted her that Skulduggery had arrived. She climbed into the passenger seat. The only reason that the car was still in one piece was that Skulduggery had reluctantly agreed to avoid using it in close proximity to gunfire, explosives, evil sorcerers or any other situation in which it was liable to be damaged.

'So, where are we going?' Valkyrie asked

'To Ghastly's shop. I have a... an item of clothing that I need him to make me.'

There was an unbearable silence, which Valkyrie broke with a cough.

'Uh-hem. So, this 'item', what is it for?'

'Well, next week is Erskine Ravel's birthday. He will be a hundred and... thirty... no, fifty... um, not sure but that's beside the point.'

'And the point is...'

'To celebrate his birthday, Erskine will be having a fancy dress party to which I am invited. I need ghastly to make me a costume. You were also invited, but I politely declined on your behalf.'

Valkyrie frowned.

'This isn't going to be a children's party, Valkyrie, with psychedelic party hats and delightful games. There will be alcohol, and loud music, and there might be some scary masks.'

'Number one,' Valkyrie began 'I'm seventeen. Number two, have you seen my Dad dancing when he's drunk? I'm pretty sure there isn't much scarier than that.'

'Well, although I have never had the pleasure to witness your father when he is drunk, if he dances anything like Gordon then you have a very valid point. Oh well. Too late now! I already uninvited you.'

'Then reinvite me.'

'No.' By this time, the Bentley had stopped outside the shop. Skulduggery took the key out of the ignition and slid it into his pocket.

'I see what this is about.' Valkyrie said, accompanied by a steely glare directed towards Skulduggery. 'You're not concerned about my wellbeing at all. You're just embarrassed about your fancy dress costume.'

Skulduggery, who had been climbing out of the car stopped, and turned his head towards her. After pausing for a moment, he said;

'Ghastly wants us to dress as food. Food, Valkyrie! What kind of dignified Sanctuary detective turns up with his friends at a fancy dress party, dressed as various comestibles? I have a reputation to think about!'

Valkyrie burst into a fit of giggles and ran into the shop, Skulduggery storming after her.


	2. Chapter 2

The doorbell rang, and Skulduggery opened it for Valkyrie. She had come to his house to get ready, so she didn't have to hide from her parents.

Standing in the doorway, she was dressed in skinny jeans and a T-Shirt. In one hand, she was carrying her dress that Ghastly had made, wrapped in plastic, and in the other a pair of hair straighteners, with a makeup bag tucked under her arm.

'Hi, have you got your costume?' she asked.

'Yes, I collected it from Ghastly this morning. But if you're going to ask me what it is, don't bother.'

'Well, in that case, I won't tell you what me and Tanith are going as either. Our costumes match.'

Previously, Skulduggery had had no bathrooms or bedrooms, since he had no need for them. However, he had had one of each fitted because Valkyrie often stayed at his house. She no longer knew whether she belonged to the mortal world or the world of magic, since she spent so much time switching between them.

Valkyrie hated getting ready. Just as always, she had spent ten frustrating minutes trying to arrange her hair before she decided to leave it down. Then she applied the least amount of makeup she could get away with. Skulduggery knocked on the bathroom door.

'Are you nearly done?' he sounded irritated.

'Nearly!' she replied.

Lastly she slipped her dress out from its white cover and changed into it. Her fancy dress costume was candy-floss. Ghastly didn't make it look gaudy and cheap, it was elegant. Her dress was white and strapless with a long skirt starting at the waist that made her look tall and slim. Wisps of candy-floss hung all around the dress like clouds, held there by Ghastly's magic.

Satisfied by how she looked, Valkyrie unlocked the door and opened it. Skulduggery, who had been leaning against the door, fell over face first. Valkyrie looked at him on the floor. He was wearing a giant ice-cream costume and trying to roll onto his back, grumbling. She roared with laughter and watched him struggle for a bit, then eventually helped him up.

'Oh, Valkyrie, you look beautiful. Well, I should think so after all of the time you spent in the bathroom. Why do girls take so long to get ready?'

She examined his costume more closely. There was a hole just big enough to fit his head through, and his arms and legs stuck awkwardly out through holes in the cone. It was obvious that Ghastly had made this costume from his own amusement.

'Why didn't Ghastly use magic on your costume?' she asked.

'He did. The ice-cream is edible.'

'Oh, what flavour?'

'Vanilla.'

Valkyrie tried to search for the right words.

'You do realise there will be lots of highly respected people at this party. Erskine has lots of friends in the Sanctuary, y'know, with him being the Grand Mage and all...'

Skulduggery indicated for her to continue.

'Well...Are you sure you don't mind them seeing you in that costume?'

'Is it really that bad? Oh, who am I kidding? I look ridiculous.'

'Don't worry, it's too late to change now...'Valkyrie said as she dragged him by his metacarpals outside.

They couldn't order a cab; the pair looked far too suspicious. She phoned Fletcher, and within a few seconds he had teleported them to the party.


	3. Chapter 3

She took a look at his costume. It was a red chilli pepper, bought cheaply online. She struggled to come up with an appropriate yet tactful phrase to describe his costume.

'You look...hot' she told him. He failed to notice the pun and took it literally, looking very pleased with himself.

'You look tasty.'he replied. She wasn't sure whether it was an intended pun. Skulduggery cleared his throat, and they both jumped, remembering abruptly that he was stood behind them.

'If this boy gives you any trouble, just let me know.' he advised sternly. Valkyrie found it hard to believe that he was still so protective of her when she was in her late teens.

He waddled awkwardly into the crowd, looking for someone to start a conversation with. The party hadn't warmed up, many of the guests were still to arrive and the music was playing relatively quietly in the background.

'Do you want a drink?' Fletcher asked. They navigated through the crowd and up to the bar. Valkyrie raised her eyebrows as Fletcher ordered a beer, and he replied by pulling his 'oh yeah, betta believe it' face. She preferred it when he was caring and sensitive to when he tried to impress her by being manly, but it was cute nonetheless. She rolled her eyes and asked for a diet lemonade.

They decided to look for Tanith and Ghastly, admiring costumes along the way. A few people were dressed in long robes, imitating previous elders from the Irish Sanctuary. She spotted a doctor Nye somewhere in the crowd, almost too convincing for comfort until she spotted a pair of worn trainers sticking out from beneath it.

. A group of men and women dressed as emo necromancers floated past. It was funny, but she wouldn't have been brave enough to try it herself. Obviously, there were no real necromancers there, they weren't really the type to party.

A tall, slim and young looking woman dressed as a sea Hag stopped in front of Valkyrie and her eyes lit up. She spoke in a high, fast voice.

'You're that Valerie-Kate girl, aren't you? Almost destroyed the world while you were trying to save it. Where's your skeleton boyfriend? He's a bit old for you, but I don't blame you for following him everywhere. As skeletons go he's not bad to look at.' Valkyrie was amazed at how the woman spoke the whole thing with no pause for breath. She wasn't sure whether she was meant to be offended, but the woman was smiling and not at all bitter looking.

'Actually, Skulduggery is not Valkyrie's boyfriend...' Fletcher began, but was interrupted.

'Hi, I'm Vita Agony.' The woman introduced herself and laughed manically when she saw Valkyrie try to conceal her look of terror.

'Haha, don't worry, I'm not a psycho murderer or anything like that. I just thought it would be a funny name. People are always scared when they meet me.' She continued to cackle as if she had inhaled helium gas. Valkyrie knew she she would have to make an excuse and leave.

'Well, er, it was nice to meet you Vita, but if I don't say hello to my cousin Bartholomew he will be upset.' She dragged Fletcher away by his wrist, and, spotting Ghastly in the crowd, headed over. He was dressed as action-man, a costume he had made himself.

'Hey, that's not fair! I thought that we would all go as food.' Ghastly chuckled.

'I thought I'd save myself the embarrassment. Besides, I made the costumes, so I get to choose what we all wear. If I might say so, you look beautiful Valkyrie.' It wasn't very often that Ghastly gave compliments. Valkyrie blushed and turned to look at Tanith. She looked exquisite, in the pink equivalent of Valkyrie's dress.

'Wow, you look amazing.' 'Thanks, so do you Val.'

At that moment Valkyrie felt something hit her leg and saw a fork of lighning. She screamed and stumbled backwards, much to the amusement of Ghastly and Tanith.

Looking down she saw a chubby toddler as tall as her knee dressed in an eel costume, with electricity crackling along it.

'Don't worry, it's perfectly safe.' said an English male voice, from next to Ghastly.

'Just a simple illusion charm, it doesn't hurt her. God, I would never put real electricity near my daughter.' he smiled at the woman next to him, presumably his wife.

'Allow me to introduce Jotham and Toril Step, and their daughter Ivy.' said Ghastly. Jotham was dressed as a lobster, and Toril a squid. Valkyrie picked up the toddler and rested her on her hip. Her costume was cute, if a little creepy.

Ivy shyly hid her fce, then began playing with Valkyrie's candyfloss. She tried to put some in her mouth, but Valkyrie swiftly pulled her hand away, not sure if it was edible or not.

'Jotham came to Ireland as a representative from the English sanctuary. Here he met Toril, who was the administrator at the time. They fell in love...' Ghastly's voice broke on the last word, and he began fidgeting 'got married... And here we are' Ghastly swallowed. He looked pale.

'Are you ok honey?' Tanith asked, looking concerned. 'Umm. Yeah, fine. I think I'm going to go and look for Skulduggery.' Fletcher, who had been fussing over Ivy, loudly declared:

'Eew, she dribbled on me!' Everyone laughed and Ivy giggled contentedly. Valkyrie and Fletcher introduced themselves but they didn't have to. The couple had already heard about the work they had done for the sanctuary, and paid them many compliments. Valkyrie was flattered that someone other than a crazy stalker knew who she was. 


	4. Chapter 4

Ghastly would have been sweating if it wasn't for the breathable fabric of his action man outfit. He fought through the crowd, as quickly as he could to get to Skulduggery. They greeted one another.

'I'm not sure I can do this Skulduggery.'

'Of course you can, I know you can.'

'I want this more than anything, but what if she doesn't? I don't think I could cope.'

'She wants this Ghastly, trust me. It's obvious to anyone who has eyes. And to me, I don't even have eyes.'

'What if something goes wrong? I'll just end up making a fool of myself.'

'You worry too much. It'll be over in a minute and you will live the rest of your life, glad that you took a small risk. Whenever you're ready, I'm right behind you.'


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N - Sorry I haven't updated for a while, I was on holiday. I know it has been slow to start off, but keep reading, there are plenty of plot twists to come!**

Fletcher and Valkyrie made their way to the dance floor. She always had fun when they went dancing together. Fletcher came up with such ridiculous dances that she didn't have to feel self conscious about her own dancing when she stood next to him.

After a few songs, they were approached by Erskine Ravel. Valkyrie noted that he looked considerably less attractive in his saggy sumo wrestler costume. Of course, with magic on his side he had been able to make it blend in with the rest of his skin. It looked quite real, but didn't at all fit his face. Valkyrie had to stand a couple of metres away to give him room to dance. She tried to avert her eyes from the fake bulk which jiggled as Erskine danced. How could someone so childish be taken seriously as Grand Mage? He laughed, pulling her closer to him and shimmying. Valkyrie wondered how he had even become Grand Mage.

Then she noticed that the crowd had all gathered round to watch Skulduggery dance. Erskine stepped into the middle too. They both broke out in a wild frenzy of dancing. Most of Erskine's dances involved placing his thick legs far apart and throwing his weight around. Skulduggery's costume meant that he had to move his head and torso as one. He flailed around his arms with alarming speed and flexibility. Once she had gotten over the initial shock, she laughed, vowing to keep the memory of this moment forever. He tried one heads movement, which resulted in a large glob of ice-cream landing on an unsuspecting bystander.

Skulduggery suddenly stopped, and brushed off his shoulder, walking back into the crowd like nothing had happened. Valkyrie had never seen him let go that much. He signalled to Erskine, who understood immediately and approached Valkyrie and Fletcher.

'We've got to head outside now guys. Ghastly has an announcement to make.'

The pair, who had not been expecting this followed Erskine outside.

The air was warm, with a cool summer breeze circulating. Most of the guests gathered outside were people whom Valkyrie knew or recognised. Ghastly and Tanith were standing in front of the crowd. Trembling, Ghastly knelt down and produced a small bow from his pocket. He removed the ring and held it out in the aplm of his hand.

'Tanith, you don't have to accept this ring, and my hand in marriage, but if you do I shall be a happy man for the rest of my life.'

Tanith put the ring on and hugged Ghastly, who was crying with relief and happiness. As they made their way back inside, a slower song came on. They kissed, and Tanith rested her hands on Ghastly's collarbones to remove his facade. They smiled at each other. Skulduggery danced with Valkyrie, who only came up to his shoulder. In that moment, she was overwhelmed with happiness


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N – I do not own the Skulduggery Pleasant series.**

Skulduggery and Valkyrie sat on the pier. There was a light wind that lifted her hair. Skulduggery listened as Valkyrie told him of her problems. He always knew when something was troubling her.

She told him of how she wanted to stop lying to her parents, but wasn't sure if she was prepared to sacrifice magic in order to do so. She told him of how she had been hiding from the truth that she could not keep switching between two lives. She asked him how far she could push her reflection; it was becoming a full time replacement. Would it be a sister to Alice? Would it have a career? All of these questions had been buzzing around in her head, waiting to be answered.

'It is completely up to you, Valkyrie, what you choose to do with your life. But I think you have to choose which world you belong to.'

Valkyrie sighed, she knew he was right.

'For now, I think you need a break. I have taken time off from the Sanctuary. I was wondering if I could take you on holiday. Fletcher can come if you want. Maybe then you could relax, mull things over and decide what you want to do with your future.'


	7. Chapter 7

** A/N - Thank you to anyone who reviewed my previous chapters. Reviews are very helpful so please keep them coming, and if a reviewer has written an SP story then I will check that out. **

Billy-Ray Sanguine and Vita Agony sat in 'The Dragon's Head', a pub on the outskirts of Dublin. The atmosphere was as lively as a damp cloth, but Billy-Ray was excited nonetheless.

He had come here for business. Since he had heard about Tanith's engagement, he had been furious. In the days when they had been together, when Tanith was possessed, he had grown used to her company.

At first he couldn't believe his luck, but after a while he found himself wanting to get to know the real Tanith. She was beautiful, there was no denying it. But somehow, he no longer cared simply about her aesthetics. He wanted the real Tanith, conscience and all.

As much as he hated to admit it, Ghastly's proposal had hurt him. It tore away at his insides. _ She doesn't want me,_ he thought _ she wants him_. She will only ever see me as a villain. He did not know how to show her compassion, to win her over, even if she had given him a chance. So he had decided to deal with it, the only way he knew how. Revenge.

'Have you not gathered anyone else for the attack?' asked Vita 'Two on two combat is a big risk. They're both well-trained in Martial arts. They're fairly young, strong and agile. It would be a good idea to have numbers on our side.'

As annoying as Vita was, she would be useful, since her adept discipline was that she had a gist. Even more so, being the sadistic psychopath she was, she would be willing to help him for free. This was a very small scale operation, so Sanguine didn't have to put up with her for long. 'No.' he replied, sipping at his beer.

'They will be unarmed and unprepared. We wait 'til they separate then take them down one at a time.' 


	8. Chapter 8

Skulduggery had insisted on a proper holiday, which involved catching a 10am flight to San Francisco in California. Fletcher, who had been to San Francisco before, agreed to teleport and meet them at their hotel.

Valkyrie had not slept at all the night before, so she spent the whole flight asleep on Skulduggery's shoulder.

Twelve hours later, it was midday local time and they were on the Californian highway in an open-top mini cooper with Oasis blaring on full volume. Any disapproving looks were ignored by the pair.

When they arrived at their hotel, Fletcher was waiting outside for them. Valkyrie felt as though she was in a movie; the reception area was filled with white marble, luggage porters with golden trollies and the occasional elegantly placed potted plant.

They had a row of three rooms, one each. Skulduggery told Valkyrie that they would stay for about a week and a half, and if she wanted to explore another city or area, they would move to a different hotel. It seemed like a perfect holiday, but, despite the luxury of the hotel surrounding her, Valkyrie could never forget her worries for more than an hour at a time.

She jumped straight onto her bed (delightfully springy), ordered a milkshake from room service and tried to relax. 


	9. Chapter 9

Billy-Ray's hands were clammy. He was suddenly starting to have doubts. This is new, he thought. He wanted so badly to cause hurt to the couple that had hurt him, but a small part of him didn't want to hurt Tanith.

Vita parked her blue fiat at the end of the street. They wouldn't recognise her car, because they had never seen it before.

Sanguine climbed out of the passenger side, and Vita the driver's side. They hurried along the street, which was mostly occupied by mages, in fear of being recognised. Vita snuck along the fence of Tanith and Ghastly's house to see where they were. She looked in all of the downstairs windows she passed, and found that they were both in the garden. She watched as Tanith went inside, into the kitchen to get some drinks. Then she quietly made her way back round to Billy-Ray at the front of the house.

Tanith poured lemonade into each of the tall glasses. She reached into the cupboard for the straws, but froze as she heard rumbling from behind. She spun around and widened her eyes as Billy-Ray Sanguine rose out of her kitchen floor.

Too shocked and confused to react with her normal speed, Sanguine threw a powerful punch at her face and she stumbled backwards, hand covering the injury. Then he delivered a kick to her stomach, which, without Ghastly's protective clothing , caused her to double over.

She kicked him under the chin, hard, and his head flew back, then yelled to Ghastly. While his hands where clutching his jaw, she picked him up and flipped him over her shoulder, slamming him onto the ground with brutal force.

While he was down, she tried to run outside, but he grabbed her ankle and pulled her to the floor. Clueless as to why he was here, she searched his face for a reason. It was written with bitterness, fury and pain. Tanith quickly leapt up and ran outside.

Little did she know that Ghastly was also in combat. Facing Ghastly was a woman she hated: Vita Agony. Her gist had the same wild, blonde hair, but it reached nearly to the ground. It had alarmingly long, sharp teeth and slit eyes like a snake.

The gist leaped at Ghastly, knocking him over, but he managed to hold it back before it sank his teeth into him. He tackled it and rolled over so it was on the floor. The gist wriggled from underneath Ghastly, who in turn stood up and kicked it in the leg. The gist answered by elbowing him in the ribs and kicking him on the back of his legs, causing him to buckle over and sending him to his knees. He could hardly move because his rib was broken.

The gist then turned its attention to Tanith. It sprang into action by biting Tanith's neck. The bite had sliced through the vein on her neck, causing blood to spurt out from the wound.

The gist then proceeded to cause as much damage as it could to Tanith's body. Her defences were weak, she was losing too much blood. Feeling helpless, she wondered if this might be the last battle of her life.

Billy-Ray started to panic. Tanith was bruised and broken, possibly on the brink of death. He lunged at the gist, grabbing it and pulling it away from Tanith. He shouted at the real Vita to withdraw her gist, hoping it wasn't too late. But slowly the gist was sucked back into her body. She looked confused as to why Sanguine had ordered her to stop.

'You nearly killed her!' he shouted. Vita Agony jumped on the fence and left without another word.

Billy-Ray scooped Tanith up from the floor and carried her back into the kitchen, lying her to rest on the table.

'I'm so sorry.' he whispered, leaning over her and a fat tear fell from his eye onto her face. It made her cut sting. He kissed her, and the blood from her lip transferred to his. He called the ambulance.

'I love you, Tanith Low.' he told her, and left just before Ghastly limped in to the room.

A/N- Please review! 


	10. Chapter 10

Valkyrie and Fletcher sat at the edge of the pool with their feet dangling in the water.

'I know I should've told my parents, but I think I've put it off for too long now. I don't think they'd like the idea that they've been living with a fake version of me for four years.'

'Honestly Val, I think you should tell your parents the truth. I ruined my relationship with my Dad and I regret it.'

That night, Valkyrie couldn't sleep. She was running through scenarios in her head.

Scenario 1 - I never tell my parents about magic. My reflection becomes Stephanie Edgely permanently. Alice has to live with that heartless freak as a sister. That didn't seem fair at all. She hated her reflection and could not bear the thought of letting her live the rest of her life.

Scenario 2 - I die and someone has to explain to my parents why my death is plastered over the media, but I appear to be still safe and sound at home. No way.

Scenario 3 - I become Darquesse, and, out of control and power hungry, I destroy my parents along with the rest of the world. Hmm, somehow not entirely appealing either. Valkyrie climbed out of bed and knocked hard on the neighbouring door.

'Fletcher!' she hissed 'Wake up, I need you.' He woke too suddenly, and rolled out of bed, landing with a THUMP! on the floor. Valkyrie heard a muffled 'Ow'.

He opened the door for her, still half asleep, with his hair flat on one side and his duvet wrapped around him.

Whadda ya wan?' he moaned.

'I'm going to tell my parents the truth. I need you to take me home.'

'Right now?'

'Yes.'

'But I look awful.' Looking at his crumpled pyjamas and skewiff hair, she had to agree.

'Just put some jeans on and sort out your hair, then let's do this before I chicken out.'

All the noise had woken Skulduggery. He stumbled into Fletcher's room and found a note on his bed. It read:

We've gone to my house to talk to my parents. Fletch can pick you up in the morning. Sorry, just something I gotta do. Your annoying associate xxx

'That bloody girl!' he muttered.

Fletcher had teleported them to outside Valkyrie's house, where it was midday. She walked in, opening the front door for the last time has 'Stephanie'. If all went to plan, from that day on her parents would know her as Valkyrie.

The first thing she showed them was her elemental powers. They were taken aback as she hovered in the air, and produced fire from her fingertips. Then Fletcher teleported into the room, and helped her to explain the situation.

Her Dad seemed a lot less surprised about the magic than her Mum. Valkyrie guessed that he'd known about magic really, but just didn't want to accept it.

'Stephanie has become very important in the world of magic. The insanity virus epidemic was caused by evil magic controlling people, and she was responsible for stopping it.' Valkyrie took over. 'It may be hard to believe, but everything Uncle Gordon wrote about was true. He wasn't mad, he just knew about magic.'

She left the bit about her reflection until last. It was hard to tell whether her mother believed her. She were grateful to know that the distracted and distanced reflection wasn't the real Stephanie. She knew that the existence of magic was a far more logical explanation for everything they had seen, Stephanie's powers, the insanity virus, than all of the far-fetched theories that other people had been coming up with. When she looked at Stephanie, she didn't look mad. In fact, she looked a lot more real and sincere than this replacement she had told them of.

'I might not be around a whole lot any more, but I promise I won't use the reflection again. You can tell people I went to college, university, or something like that.' Desmond just sighed. He believed his daughter, and was glad that she had opened up. He was disappointed that she'd been caught up in Gordon's crowd. There was nothing he could do to stop her now, she was nearly an adult and it was her own decision, after all. He tried not to let the hurt show on his face. 'I know you might not believe me yet, but read Gordon's books and try to understand.' She tearfully hugged her parents, realising it might be months before they saw her again. 'Oh, and one last thing, can you call me Valkyrie please?' A/N- Please review! 


	11. Chapter 11

.

. Billy-Ray sat in his apartment. He had always been comfortable with the fact he was a killer. He still was, but now for the first time he felt regret. Every time he had a flashback of what he'd done, he felt sick and dizzy and broke into a sweat.

The pain on Tanith's face, pain that he had caused had made him feel like a monster.

This time was different because he never usually cared about his victims. Sometimes he hated them, most of the time he didn't know them at all, sometimes they were even likeable. But he had never cared about them. Tanith, he cared about more than anyone else, more so than himself, even.

He took a swig of vodka. Of course, he knew very well that alcohol wouldn't drown his sorrows. He knew it would make them worse, but he felt like he deserved it.

Then he removed his shirt, and, taking his straight razor, made an incision in his the centre of his chest and drew a small vertical line. He didn't cry out as the blade cut through flesh, instead he gritted his teeth and let a tear escape from his eye.

He carved a horizontal line on top, to make a letter 'T'. Now he would never forget what he had done. 


	12. Chapter 12

. Erskine Ravel sat at his desk, performing typical Grand Mage duties. He checked the time. Still six more hours until he could change out of his ridiculous robe. When the administrator knocked on the door, he bade him enter.

The current administrator was a tall, thin man with long features and very little hair. He was very solemn, and took his job very seriously, but instead of listening to him, the Grand Mage would often imagine him with different hairstyles. Yesterday it was an afro, today it was a giant orange quiff.

'Excuse me, Grand Mage, did you hear what I just said?'

'Uh, no, sorry could you repeat it?'

Tanith Low and Ghastly Bespoke were attacked yesterday and have been admitted to hospital. Bespoke seems to be recovering well but I'm afraid Low has sustained some serious and life-threatening injuries. I was suggesting that you take the afternoon off to visit them.'

'Thank you, I will.'

Erskine hated hospitals. He rarely visited them but the washed-out colours, strange smells and long corridors scared him. The emergency department was close to the car park, though, so he had no trouble finding it.

Although he hadn't shown it in the Sanctuary, he was worried, very worried. He couldn't help but think that if the injuries were bad enough, Tanith may only have a few days left. And the attackers, whom he had been told were Billy-Ray Sanguine and Vita Agony. What was their motive? Had they jut wanted to target the couple or could they carry out another attack; on Valkyrie or Skulduggery, perhaps. They would have to investigate and arrest those involved before they had a chance to cause more trouble.

When Erskine saw Tanith, he failed to hide his expression of worry. She had a black eye, and about one third of her face was swollen and covered with scarlet bruises. There was a large plaster on the side of her neck. Her right leg was in a cast, and so was her left arm. The deep, long gashes around her neck and chest, were covered with large plasters.

'Pretty ugly, huh?' said Tanith, and forced a smile.

'How are you? Have the doctors told you how long it will take you to heal?'

'I know what you're thinking, don't worry, I'll be fine. I almost lost too much blood, but I'm healing. It will be a few months before I can begin to think about training again.'

'Don't worry about that, just try to get better and we will arrest your attackers. The only way you can help us is if you have any information about why they did this. Did they say anything to you, or give you any clues?'

'No, 'fraid not.' Tanith replied, although she could not look him straight in the eye. She was lying, of course, and she didn't want to but she wasn't prepared to share what Billy-Ray had said. Ghastly, in the next bed looked pale. Erskine could see that a long length of bandage had been wrapped around his chest, under his hospital gown, and his arm was in a sling.

Ravel left, a few minutes later, but he couldn't help but think that they were keeping something from him.

Valkyrie's reflection stood outside the hospital. She had been waiting for him outside the sanctuary, and when he came out early, well, that was just a bonus. Then she had followed him to the hospital. No-one liked her, in fact, she was pretty sure Valkyrie hated her.

No-one knew that she was capable of returning emotion. She had been ever since Skulduggery had shot her. Death is not possible without life, it's just that her life had come after her death, not before.

Suddenly, she could feel and think, she had emotions... And hormones. The world was no longer a bunch of shapes with no meaning, and she had taken a particular liking to Erskine Ravel.

Of course, everyone thought she was the other, 'real' Valkyrie, and that worked to her advantage.

The Grand Mage finally emerged from the double glass doors of the hospital. 'Oh, Valkyrie, what are you doing here? I thought you were in America!' They walked together towards his car.

'I came back early when I heard about Tanith and Ghastly.'

'So you went to visit them? They didn't mention it. So, is Skulduggery around?'

'Oh no, don't worry. He's well out of the way. He won't see us.' As soon as she said this, she pinned him against the car, and pushed her face so close to his that he was forced to bend backwards onto the bonnet.

She raised one leg and planted her high-heeled boot right next to his hip on the bonnet. Funny, he thought Valkyrie hated wearing heels. Then she ran her hand up his chest and loosened his tie.

Just as he was about to protest she yanked him forwards by his tie and pulled him in to a long kiss, one arm over his shoulder and one on the back of his head, running her fingers through his hair. He started to try and loosen the tie, to give him a chance to escape. She started to feel the rest of his body with her hands when he undid the tie and pulled himself out of her grasp.

'What the hell was that, Valkyrie? I'm more than a hundred years older than you, and I am the Grand Mage. Imagine what kind of scandal there would be if this got out! Skulduggery would kill me, for one. What's gotten into you?' He quickly jumped into the drivers seat before she could touch him again and drove off. 


	13. Chapter 13

. As promised, Fletcher and Valkyrie went back to the hotel in the morning to fetch Skulduggery. Predictably, he wasn't too pleased. After what seemed like an hour of lecturing about why they shouldn't have gone without him, they checked out early and returned to Ireland.

On their arrival, they were told to report straight to the Sanctuary.

'As you know, Tanith and Ghastly were attacked a few days ago and just escaped with their lives.'

'What, we didn't know that! We only just came back from San Francisco.'

'But Valkyrie, we...' he went red 'spoke yesterday.'

'Uh, we didn't. Yesterday I was speaking to my parents, then we went back for Skulduggery, and here we are now.'

'Umm... Ok then... Well anyway, the attackers were Billy-Ray Sanguine and Vita Agony.' Valkyrie clenched her fists 'We need to arrest them, but I want you to put your personal bitterness to one side. Bring them back to the Sanctuary unharmed and we will give them a fair trial. Also, if you find that anyone else was involved then arrest them too. Understood?'

'Understood.' they replied in unison. 'Before you leave, I want a word with Valkyrie... In private...' Fletcher shrugged and left the room with Skulduggery, who told Valkyrie to meet them outside. Erskine paced up and down the room like he was expecting her to initiate the conversation. When it became clear that she wasn't, he spoke.

'Valkyrie, what you did was irresponsible and selfish, but you can't pretend it never happened.'

'What?'

'Goddamn it Valkyrie, I should be the one asking the questions. What the hell are you playing at?' she had never seen him so serious. 'You try to seduce me in a public carpark, just after your best friend had been attacked may I add, and then you deny all knowledge of both incidents. I promise, I won't tell anyone what happened if you can just tell me what's going on.'

'I swear, I don't know what you're talking about.'

'I need the TRUTH, Valkyrie!' he yelled this time, and Valkyrie began to be genuinely frightened of him.

'Ok, this is the actual truth, I swear on Alice's life.' she maintained eye contact with him. 'Fletcher and I teleported last night from the hotel to my house. I told my parents about magic, I had to. This morning, we teleported back, collected Skulduggery, and as soon as we came into the country, we came straight here. If you saw me when I was away, it must've been my reflection.' Relief washed over the Grand Mage's face.

'I'm sorry, Valkyrie, just all of the stress is hard for me to handle. So, it was your reflection. I didn't know that was possible. Valkyrie, your reflection lied to me, and worse, it tried to seduce me.' Valkyrie pulled a face.

'That's disgusting. Aside from that, it's also very bad news. That means it has acted without my consent. It has free will, and obviously also has... Feelings... Towards you...' she went red. 'Valkyrie I want you to lead an official Sanctuary investigation into this. What happened in the carpark stays between us two, but you need to stop your reflection from causing trouble and find out how it is governing it's own actions.' Valkyrie had just reached the door when Erskine added; 'and in future, Valkyrie, save that stuff for Fletcher.' 


	14. Chapter 14

Tanith wasn't sure what she felt for Ghastly. She had thought it was love, when he proposed to her. She knew that he loved her, and she owed him her life, for when he had saved her from the remnant, she was filled with gratitude towards him.

Maybe she had mistaken that for love.

Then, two more events had shifted her point of view.

Firstly, Sanguine had undeniably saved her life, and afterwards, those three words he had said.

I love you.

He had shown he was more than a villain, he was a man, and she had never recognised that before. Just three words, but perhaps the most difficult she had ever had to understand.

Then, when her tests had been run, and the nurse took her aside. She flashed back to the conversation...

'The doctor has taken into consideration the tests and the examination. We think that we can repair the damage, and get you on the mend, although it will be a few months until you can fully recover. You might be surprised to hear that the doctor found something else too. You are showing signs of pregnancy. By the looks of things, you could be up to two months.'

Tanith had gasped, but it felt like no breath had entered her lungs. Two months, two months. Two months ago she had been possessed by the remnant.

The next thing she remembered was a wave of nausea knocking her over, and the blue of the nurse's uniform, the hospital gowns and the floor swirled into one as she went down...

A tear escaped her eye every time she remembered it. She had told Ghastly everything. He tried to pretend that he didn't care, that they would carry on the same as they would have. Ever since he had been sitting in silence, staring straight ahead. The worst thing was that she knew what she wanted, and it wasn't Ghastly, her fianceé, to raise this baby with her. 


	15. Chapter 15

Valkyrie was surprised when she found out that Sanguine lived in an apartment. She didn't know what she had expected. Something more like a lair, maybe, but he was a man after all, and he certainly earned a lot of money. When they entered, pristine marble worktops swept through the kitchen, as did they, and found Billy-Ray asleep on the sofa.

This was too easy, it was almost like he didn't mind being caught. Valkyrie carefully handcuffed him, now he had no magic and no weapons: He was defenceless.

Valkyrie poked him awake.

'You have been arrested under several charges of murder and attempted murder. You have the right to remain silent and anything you say now can be used as evidence against you in court.'

He stood up silently and followed them out the door. There was something wrong, he had just sat in his apartment waiting to be arrested.

Before he was always on the run, that's why they had never been able to arrest him before. They were expecting to have to hunt him down.

They took him in for questioning, to find information on the whereabouts o his accomplice.

'So, where did Vita Agony go after the attack?'

'I honest to God don't know. She jus' left.'

'Were you planning a series of attacks, or would this have been the only one.'

'Jus' this one.'

There was something different about him. He seemed no longer cocky, but helpless and nonchalant.

'Your trial will be next Thursday.' said Skulduggery, and the Cleaver threw him into a cell. 


End file.
